Shortly after VJ Day, my dad received the letter below from his buddy Harry Truax. My dad kept the letter for the rest of his life, and I’ve kept it to this day.
The letter reads as follows (apologies for any transcription errors):
Kassel, Germany – August 26, 1945
Dear Frank,
I just received your letter which my wife forwarded to me as I’m no longer with the 104 as I was classed as D in our physical profile exam and left the outfit before they sailed. I was transferred into the 69th Div. & from there into this outfit. It looked like a good break for me at the time as the 104th was slated for the Pacific and believe me I didn’t want any more combat. I imagine they will pull occupation duty down there and I’m better off here in Germany.
I was wondering if you heard that Paul had been shot through the neck and had suffered a broken arm in his fall. He is at the Cushing Gen’l Hospital in Framingham, Mass & from a letter I received from him is coming along ok. Old Millsie came through without a scratch.
Frank, these boys gave their lives: Becraft, Casmer, Dinelle, Edgecomb, Gill, Hanson, Hubley, Burton Lee, Miller, Pfaff, Price, Rosalez, Bill Smith, Bilbo Wheeler, Les Wolfe, along with men you didn’t know & totaling 32 in the company. Believe me Frank it’s hell to think of these boys & the many others that were shot up pretty badly.
Must close Frank so drop me a line when you find time.
As ever,
Harry
A few points of additional context. An infantry company has about 150-160 soldiers. The 32 killed in action was high, even by World War II standards. About 419,000 Americans died in World War II, representing about 2.6% of the roughly 16 million that served. Both Harry and my dad served in the 104th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Timberwolves. The 104th fought in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. Some additional details are available here.
The letter has no John Wayne style bravado. That was for the movies. (Wayne himself never served.) Instead, you had friends expressing relief the war was over and taking a moment to remember their fallen brothers in arms.